Tarnished
by Troth
Summary: After his Master, Spectra, declares his love for Mylene, the broken hearted Gus makes a choice between his happiness, and his master's. Putting aside his own feelings for Spectra, Gus vows to protect his happiness at any cost. After coming across a familiar scythe, Gus questions whether there is more to this story than he thought. Is there something he's forgotten?
1. Chapter 1: Peculiar

_There was a bright blue light in the darkness. Everything around it caught on fire and turned to ashes. The animals close by became alarmed and ran off. Then the light disappeared, leaving an unconscious figure behind. The world was quiet that day. _

* * *

Things were peculiar now. Mylene had always hated Spectra, and Spectra had always brushed her off. Again, things were now peculiar. The sight of them holding hands seemed like a fantasy, completely unreal. But there they were; with smiles on their faces. Everyone was shocked at first, but little by little they grew accustomed to it.

Except for Gus. He hated it. He didn't understand why, but whenever he saw the two of them, happy with each other, it gave him a pain in his chest. Could this feeling be called jealousy? No! Gus refused to believe it. Spectra was his master, and Gus was merely his servant. But why did it hurt to look at them?

No one else knew how Gus felt, and despite his desire to keep these feelings a secret, it hurt to deal with them alone. It was late at night, Gus was beginning to feel the familiar aches in his chest. He laid in his bed; the pain seemed to hurt more tonight. _Why, why, why, why?_ seemed to be the only thing running through his mind at the moment. Something troubled him. Why did his master's happiness...upset him? It should be the other way around. Yeah...that sounded better. Gus took a deep breath. A servant's job is to protect his master, Gus began to think, and that includes his happiness.

"I suppose I'll protect Mylene as well." Gus muttered to himself and finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

They were at it again. Gus ignored them and tried to distract himself by reading information he had already read before.

"Shadow, what do you mean you can't go?" exclaimed Mylene. Well, this certainly caught Gus's attention.

"I have more important things to check out." Shadow said, sticking his tongue out.

"But Spectra can't go, he has another mission!"

"What does that have to do with me?" Gus stepped away from the computer and walked up to them.

"It's fine. I'll go with you." Spectra nodded.

"I'm sure he'll be better company than Shadow," Spectra wrapped his arm around Mylene's neck. "Plus, there's no one I trust more to protect you." Spectra added. Mylene was hesitant; Gus didn't know why though. They had never fought or argued before.

"Well, then," Mylene still seemed hesitant. "Let's go." They went to the transporter, and Mylene typed in the coordinates. Gus peeked at them and said, "Why are you going there?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

* * *

As promised, Mylene had informed Gus what she had to do. Her mission was to investigate the inhabited region. Vestals had tried many times to build a city there, but misfortune befell them, and they were forced to leave. There was another odd thing about it. Bakugan were unable to be released from their ball forms. It seemed to be like a Dimension Controller, but no vestal had put anything of the sort.

After Mylene's little explanation, the two walked in silence. Mylene kept glancing at Gus, wondering if she should try to start another conversation. Gus, however, hoped she would not. He merely wanted to make sure she was fine, not to become her friend. Mylene cleared her throat.

"Let's see if I can bring out Elico." The two turned to each other and took out their gauntlets.

"Gauntlet Power Strike!" They exclaimed. Mylene threw Elico into the air, but he did not come out. Mylene looked perplexed as Elico went back into her hand. Strange.

The ground below them shook, surprising them.

"Wh-" Mylene pointed at something behind Gus, "What is that?" Just as he turned around, he was thrown back. He heard Mylene cry out, and Gus pulled out his gun. Between him and Mylene was a black dragon like creature with pure red eyes. It hissed at him, showing off its fangs.

It took a step towards him, and Gus shot it in the shoulder. It let out a roar and swung it's tail, hitting Mylene.

"Mylene!" Gus shouted. He shot at t again, narrowly missing it. The monster disappeared, and Gus's vision began to go dark. What's going on? Gus's thoughts were all over the place. _Was Mylene alright or is she dead? Was he himself dead?_Just before his vision completely went black, he saw a golden scythe in his hand.

* * *

_Gus made his way down the street; he seemed to have known it well. The streets were becoming dirtier and dirtier. When Gus tried to turn the other way, he realized he did not have control of his body. So he just played along and watched. When he looked down, he noticed his clothes were different. Instead of his usual vestal attire and orange coat, he had white clothes with golden designs on them. In his hand, he had a gold stone. In the alleys people watched him pass, not daring to move. When he looked at them, they gasped slightly and disappeared into the darkness. Gus realized he had stopped, and saw there was a beaten up old shop. He went inside, and a man was there waiting for him. His right eye was covered in bandages, and his cheek was scarred with what seemed like scratches from finger nails. _

_"It's about time you've come, Grav." _


	2. Chapter 2: The Golden Stone

_Gus, Gus, Gus!_

Someone was calling his name. He tried to place the voice, but his mind went blank.

_Gus, wake up! Please!_

The voice was practically begging. Was it someone who cared for him? Was there even a person like that in his life?

**'It's time to wake up now'** said another voice. A light appeared in the darkness.

* * *

Gus opened his eyes slowly and saw two blurred figures above him. His vision cleared up, and he saw that it was Mylene and Spectra.

"Oh, thank god." Spectra, who wasn't wearing his mask, let out a sigh of relief. Gus realized they were no longer in the inhabited region. They were in a white room, and he was laying in a bed. Gus groaned as he sat up.

"What happened?" Mylene's eyes widened.

"You mean," she began slowly, "you don't remember?" Gus tried to think back, but his mind was blank. "...well when I came to, I found you on the ground. Pieces of the monster were around you; so I assumed you killed it? Anyway, you weren't waking up so I brought us back." Gus couldn't help but feel as if she was holding back some information. But...he wasn't going to force her to tell him.

Spectra was examining Gus, wondering about Gus not being to remember anything. His chest tightened. Why does it hurt every time Master Spectra is close to me? Gus leaned away from him. Spectra raised an eyebrow, but he did the same. Gus's head was pounding, and he put his hand against his forehead.

"Gus, what's wrong?" Spectra asked, concerned. He pushed him away.

"I'm ok. I think I need to be alone right now." The pounding was hurting a lot more now. Mylene took Spectra's arm, and they left. Everything was going dark again. _Hadn't this happened before Gus lost conscious at the inhabited region?_

* * *

_A man was there waiting for him. His right eye was covered in bandages, and his cheek was scarred with what seemed like scratches from finger nails. _

_"It's about time you've come, Grav," The man pulled out a stack of papers from under his desk. "You know I hate waiting." As he thought, it was the same as before. Gus had no control of himself. He simply watched. Gus tossed the golden stone up and caught it over and over. _

_"I'm well aware of the fact Kana," Gus sat on the desk, "but it's not like you can do anything about it." The man, who Gus referred to as Kana, made a sour face. _

_"Whatever. Anyway, here's your next assignment." Gus was given one of the papers from the stack. On it was a picture of a middle aged man with wealthy clothes and a description. "The name's Tomi, very rich, painful death would be preferred. The reward is very good" Gus smirked and got off the desk. _

_"So much money for one man." Kana was very annoyed at this point. _

_"What're you complaining about? You've made a fortune doing this. Get out there and do your job, Demon from Down Below*." Gus grinned as he left the shop. _

_"Demon from Down Below?" He threw the stone in the air, and it turned into a golden scythe. "I like that." _

_The next part of the dream fast forwarded. Gus simply watched in horror as he killed man after man, all just for money. But worst of all, was the face Gus made when he killed, as if he enjoyed it! _

_"Oh dear," Gus said, as he picked himself off the ground. "I think I got a bit carried away." Gus screamed after bit, after bit, after bit. The scene disappeared, and Gus was back at the shop. Kana had his finger to his lips. _

_This one is an important job. _

_There is no room for failure. _

_You need to kill-_

* * *

Gus was back in reality. Someone was shaking him.

"God, Gus!" Spectra let go of him. "What nightmare were you having?"

"What? Was I-"

"Screaming? Yeah, it sounded as if you were being murdered." Gus was completely embarrassed. How pathetic he was, to scream in his sleep.

"I'm fine, it was just a nightmare. Sorry for troubling you, Master Spectra." Gus turned away. Spectra looked as if he wanted to say something but decided against it.

"Well, as long as you're ok." Spectra took one last look at Gus (which he found to be too long) and left. Gus sighed.

How disturbing that dream was. But the dream seemed...familiar. _Wait a minute,_ Gus suddenly thought. _Before I had the dream the first time, didn't I have golden scythe in my hand? _Gus turned to his coat, which was hanging right next to his bed. He reached into the pocket and froze when he felt something inside. Slowly, he pulled it out.

And saw that it was the golden stone from his dream.

* * *

* Down Below: This is where the lower class citizens live, though there are a few rich people there as well. Most crimes are committed there.

Hope liked this chapter :) please review and tell me what you think


	3. Chapter 3: Our Chance Meeting

_The white orb rested on the blood stained hands and grew smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared. In front of the figure, a blue portal appeared. Without looking back, it went through it. Minutes, hours, years seemed to pass by, and it was soon out of the portal. Some of the grass had turned into ashes; some were still burning up. The figure looked up at the night sky. It was in their world now._

* * *

It had been two weeks since the accident at the inhabited region. Gus had recovered quickly. He never told anyone about his dreams nor the golden stone. The golden stone was always hidden in Gus's inner coat pocket. However, Gus had not had another dream since the accident.  
He was confused, and kept to himself even more. The most Spectra could get of Gus was, "Yes Master Spectra," or "I'm fine, Master Spectra." Gus never noticed, though, how close of an eye Mylene had been keeping on him. As if she were waiting for something.  
None of the Vexos had any missions to do, so they hung around the main room. Shadow and Gus were at their little corners, speaking to no one, Volt and Lync were talking to each other, and Spectra and Mylene sat next to each other but didn't say anything. Mylene seemed to be thinking hard. Then she seemed to have reached a conclusion.  
"Keith." She said, so she could catch Spectra's attention. Spectra snapped out of his train of thought and looked at Mylene, waiting for her to continue. "Don't ask why, but how did you and Gus meet?"  
"Wh-" Spectra stopped himself. "Well, it's kind of a long story."  
"We have plenty of time." Spectra frowned. He glanced at the other Vexos and decided they were out of earshot.  
"...it was just a chance meeting."

_It happened very late at night, their very first encounter. The streets in Alpha City were empty except for Spectra who was wandering around. At this time the Vexos had only barely been formed. However, they were missing a Subterra brawler.  
Spectra had no reason to be on the streets, but he chose to wander around. He tripped suddenly, causing his mask to fall off. He growled and quickly inspected what had caused him to trip. It was a boy, who groaned slightly and said nothing else.  
"Hey!" The boy showed no signs that he heard him. "What are you doing, laying on the ground like that?" Again, the boy ignored him. "Say something, damn it!" The boy's head shot up, and Spectra found himself staring at the boy's green eyes.  
"You're so loud." He complained. Well, this isn't the reaction he expected.  
"What's with that damn attitude?" Spectra exclaimed. The boy forced himself up and dusted himself off (not that it did any good). The boy was wearing dirty white clothes with golden designs on them. His long blue hair was an absolute mess, and he was very thin. It seemed as if he had lived on the streets his whole life.  
Spectra grabbed his mask, placed it back on his face, and stood up.  
"What's with the mask, you a criminal or something?" The boy said lazily. Ok, this boy was starting to get on Spectra's nerves.  
"No such thing. I only want to conceal my identity." Spectra said haughtily. The boy expression remained dull, and he turned around. "Hold on! Apologize for tripping me!"  
"How annoying."_

"That sounds nothing like Gus." Mylene interrupted. Spectra frowned.  
"Yeah," he glanced at his faithful servant. "He was so different back then."

_Spectra couldn't believe just how rude this boy was. The boy smirked and began to leave. Spectra stood there for a while. His body moved on its own and followed the boy. Even though the boy ticked him off, he was also very curious.  
"Why are you following me?" The boy asked, not looking back.  
"What's your name?" Spectra asked, ignoring the boy's question. A moment passed then the boy answered.  
"Gus...Gus Grav. Who are you?"  
"Spectra Phantom."  
"That's just your stage name, isn't it?" Gus stopped and turned to face Spectra. "How about you give me your real name?" Spectra hesitated. He had only met the boy a few minutes ago; was it wise to reveal his true name? Then again, who would he tell?  
"Keith Clay. Any particular reason why you were sleeping on the floor?"  
"Easy. I don't have anywhere to go."  
"Don't you have a family?" Gus looked at the ground.  
"Not that I remember."  
"Remember?"  
"...I can't remember anything except for my name. Hold on. Why am I talking about this to you? Jeez." Gus leaned on a nearby wall and sunk to the floor, closing his eyes. Spectra stayed in place and watched Gus. "You haven't left yet?" Spectra grabbed Gus's arm and yanked him off the floor. "Hey!" He protested.  
"You'll get sick if you sleep here."  
"That doesn't concern you!"  
"I'm just going to ignore that last remark."_

"Why would you just take him in?" interrupted Mylene yet again. "You had only known him for a short while." Spectra said nothing for a long while.  
"I don't know. I was just curious."

_Spectra and Gus had made it to Spectra's home. At this time the Vexos did not live together. Until they were complete, they were to stay at their own houses. Spectra took off his coat and caught Gus observing his home astonished.  
"This isn't familiar to me." Gus mumbled.  
"Of course not." Spectra removed his mask. "You're never been to my house." It seemed Gus meant something else, but at the time Spectra did not realize this. "I have a guest room so you can sleep there." Gus mumbled a thank you and sat on the guest bed. He sat there for a while looking embarrassed. Spectra entered the room a tossed him a pair of black clothes. "I figured you would want a change of clothes." As Spectra turned to leave, Gus spoke up.  
"You," Gus stammered, "You don't have to help me!" Spectra smirked.  
"Oh, but you see, that's not your decision." A faint blush appeared on Gus's face and Spectra left._

Spectra woke up to the sound of Gus's screaming. Spectra jumped out of bed and quickly entered the guest room.  
"Gus!" exclaimed Spectra, shaking him. Gus's eyes opened, and he pinned Spectra down on the bed. When he realized it was only Spectra, he immediately let go.  
"Sorry." Gus quickly apologized, looking away. "But you surprised me."  
"Only cause you were screaming!" That surprised Gus.  
"I was...screaming?"  
"Yeah. Were you having a nightmare or something?"  
"I don't know. I don't remember." Something caught Spectra's eye, distracting him.  
"You're a brawler?" He picked up the orange Bakugan off of the desk.  
"Yeah. I remember me brawling with Vulcan. I don't much after that."  
"Are you any good?"  
"I'm alright.." Spectra smirked. If Gus impresses the Prince, he could join the Vexos.  
"How about you face me?" This caught Gus off guard. "If you're good, you can join the Vexos. You'll have a real place to stay rather than the streets." He put his hand out. "Well?" Gus thought about it for a moment.  
"...alright then." He shook Spectra's hand. "Um...thank you. For helping me out." Gus mumbled, looking away. Spectra couldn't help but smirk. 

"And the rest you already know." concluded Spectra. Mylene remained silent. She was trying to connect the pieces. Scythe, memory loss, nightmare, unfamiliarity. Something clicked.  
"So that's how it is then." she said to herself.  
"Wha-"  
A shriek echoed the room and the wall shattered. The Vexos were thrown back and tried to dodge the flying pieces of the wall.  
"What the hell was that?" exclaimed Lync. Mylene groaned and looked at where the wall once was. Her eyes widened.  
"No." she whispered. "How did they get here?" There were five black dragons from the inhabited region. And they seemed even more bloodthirsty.

It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry guys. Tbh I already knew what I was going to do for this chapter, but I kept pulling it off. I must say, writing Spectra and Gus's past was fun. The only thing I don't like about this chapter was SO MUCH DIALOGUE. Gomen but I couldn't find another way out of it. Anyway, please review!


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